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Service Notice

The Western Australian Herbarium’s collections management system, WAHerb, and DBCA’s flora taxonomic names application, WACensus, have been set to read-only mode since 1 October 2025. Recent taxonomic changes are not currently being reflected in Florabase, herbarium collections, or the census. Due to the rapidly approaching holiday season and associated agency and facility soft closures, along with the substantial work involved in data mapping, cleaning, and verification, the migration to the new collection management software is not expected to occur before 1 March 2026, when a further update will be provided. Please reach out to us if you have any questions or concerns.

The notice period started at 9:45 am on Friday, 12 December 2025 +08:00 and will end at 12:00 pm on Monday, 2 March 2026 +08:00.

Melanothamnus quadratus (Hollenb.) Huisman

Reference
Algae of Australia: Marine Benthic Algae of North-western Australia, 2. Red Algae 547 (2018)
Conservation Code
Not threatened
Naturalised Status
Native to Western Australia
Name Status
Current

Scientific Description

Habit and structure. Thallus to 4 mm tall, rusty brown, with a limited prostrate axis and sparse erect axes. Attachment rhizoids unicellular with digitate ends, occasionally saccate, pit-connected to the pericentral cells of prostrate axes. Prostrate axes to 170 µm diam. [segment L:B 0.3–0.5]. Erect branches 100–160 µm diam. [segment L:B 0.2–0.5], becoming shorter near apices. Axes with 4 pericentral cells, ecorticate. Trichoblasts/scar cells arising at irregular intervals, often in displaced pairs on subsequent segments, but then with 6–8 naked segments.

Reproduction. Spermatangia in cylindrical heads forming as 1 branch of a basal dichotomy of trichoblasts, 140–200 µm long, 50–70 µm diam., lacking a sterile apical cell. Other reproductive structures not observed.

Distribution. Known only from the type locality and a single collection from the northern Kimberley, north-western Australia.

Habitat. epiphytic.

[After J.M. Huisman in Algae of Australia: Marine Benthic Algae of North-western Australia, 2. Red Algae: 547 (2018)]